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Escape!
Escape! Designed to free you from the four walls of today
for a half hour of high adventure!
You are kneeling in the church of a Caribbean village,
seeking the sanctuary it might offer.
While slowly, walking down the aisle,
carefully steadying each bowed head
is the brute of a man who has come to kill you.
Listen now, as Escape brings you Lus Crutchfield's story,
the violent night.
Huh? Huh? Huh.
I came awake suddenly, wide awake.
It's a trick you learn around the back countries of the Caribbean.
If you want to stay alive...
I didn't move. I didn't make a sound.
Just stared into the darkness and listened.
Then it came again.
Somebody was on the veranda.
I slid off the cot,
reached for my pistol on the table,
and stood up.
Barefooted I moved quietly across the room
and stopped by the shutters.
Senor Cready.
Who is it?
Pepita. It is Pepita.
Pepita?
I am come to warn you of a terrible danger.
Are you alone?
Si.
All right, wait a second.
Quickly.
What's wrong? What's the matter?
Look, toward the village.
Towards Monte Miguel.
What?
What?
Fire.
What's burning?
The estacion of the police.
The Federalista Army barrack. Other places.
It is a revolution, Senor.
Revolution?
Who is it? Who's behind it?
Alacran.
What?
He has come out of the jungle again.
One thousand men are following him.
And now more from the village.
He has guns, trucks, cars, radios.
He has called himself governor of the district.
Governor?
He won't last 48 hours.
Everyone say it is revolution all over the country.
You must leave your plantation and go quickly.
Pepita.
You, uh...
You think he still remembers?
Alacran will never forget.
Not ever.
Not before one of you is dead.
Yeah, maybe you're right.
All right, thanks, Pepita. Thanks for everything.
Ten minutes later I lay hidden in the clump of bamboo by the irrigation ditch,
30 yards from my house,
watching a convoy of army trucks swing in from the highway
and roar up the road toward the plantation.
I could have struck out then, run away,
but I had to know the odds,
know whether Alacran was making it personal,
whether he still remembered.
The trucks skidded to a stop.
Men with rifles piled out,
circled the house,
spotlights cut through the night,
lit up my bungalow, probing at the shutters.
But I didn't see him until he stepped into the circle of lights and called out.
Mr. O'Grady?
Mr. Barry O'Grady?
Alacran.
You're wasting our time, Mr. O'Grady.
You may as well come out.
Educated in the States,
but as cunning and cruel as the wildest Indian in the bush.
Are you afraid of me, Mr. O'Grady?
Are you afraid to come out and greet an old friend
who has not forgotten you for a minute?
Alacran, leader of a revolution,
self-styled governor of the district,
and he'd taken time out to lead this raid personally.
Yes, Pepito was right.
He hadn't forgotten.
He blasted the bolt off my door with a Tommy gun,
and then with a half a dozen of his men, he plunged into the house.
It was time to get out.
I'd wanted to know the odds,
and now I knew them.
I didn't have a chance.
I ran for nearly two miles
through my coffee groves, along the banks of the ditches,
through the patches of bush, before I finally played off.
I was beside a narrow road leading back into the hills.
I dropped down by the edge of it and tried to get my wind back.
Alacran.
For two years he'd waited,
and now he was coming after me.
He'd been trying to start a revolt then.
I dragged him away from my workmen,
taking his gun away from him, and beating him to a pulp.
And now he was back in control of the whole district
with a wolf pack at his heels.
And then suddenly I noticed the headlights of a car
coming down the road from the hills.
The lights were too close together
and too low to the ground for an army truck.
There were ranchers up in the hills, resorts.
It might be a private car.
It was worth a chance.
I worked feverishly.
The car was close now, and moving fast,
I gathered an armful of brush, threw it in the road,
struck a match, and set fire to it.
I came in the ditch and waited.
All right, easy now. Don't move.
Who are you? What do you want?
I want your car.
No, it is impossible. Let me go or I'll...
Oh, no, you don't. Let go of that.
Stop it. Stop it. You're hurting me.
Take your hands off.
Thanks.
Well, that's a lot of gun for a lady.
Well, we'll take care of that.
You fool.
You know who I am. No.
I am the daughter of the governor of this district.
Your what? It's true.
I heard he had a daughter, but who'd ever expect
that fat pig to have one that looks like you?
I promise you, senor.
If you go on with this, I will see that you are
shot against a wall.
You're too late. Your father already has that idea.
Or more likely, a worse one.
You know, I think you're going to come in
awfully handy before morning.
If you think you are going to... What do I call you?
Your name? Maria.
All right, Maria, let's get this straight.
I got one chance in a thousand of staying alive,
and if I can help that chance, I'll do anything.
You understand? No, please.
Now, we're going to get out of here.
We're going to get out together, whatever happens.
Your father gets me and I get you.
All right, now get the car started.
We came off the side road two miles from Monte Miguel,
crossed the main highway, and took the old road
toward San Vicente.
It was 110 miles to the capital,
but the sports car was fast.
It could outrun any army vehicle
Alcatraz men might have.
And there was a good chance he hadn't yet
blockaded the San Vicente highway.
Well, it was a good dream.
But I'm sure he was a good man.
He was a good man.
He was a good man.
Well, it was a good dream.
It lasted for two miles,
then it popped like a soap bubble.
In the road ahead, senor.
Lights, trucks, men moving.
What do you want me to do?
Brakes, hit the brakes, come on.
And get this thing turned around.
Make it fast.
Who is it?
Friends.
Come here.
Yes, yes.
All right, come on, step on it.
Faster.
Faster.
Well, that was close, plenty close.
Well, we're still lucky.
We could have barged straight into that.
They blocked us, but at least
they didn't get us.
And we still got a chance of circling back.
What?
What's wrong? What is it?
I don't know. I'm not doing anything to them.
Yeah, yeah, I can smell it.
A bullet must have smashed up in the gas tank.
Wait, we're out of petrol?
Yeah, get it over to the side.
All right.
No, farther, clear over to the canal bank.
The irrigation ditch, go on.
All right.
Come on, get out.
What are we going to do?
Here, give me a hand.
We're going to get it rolling.
Into the ditch.
All right, come on, let's go.
Where? What do you mean?
They'll be along here any second, find where we sank the car.
Come after us, we don't have much time.
Now, come on, let's get across that ditch.
In the water? No, I will not do it.
I will not go into the water.
All right.
Put me down, put me down, stop.
Hold your breath.
Now, just take it easy.
Quit fighting and relax, will you?
I'll get you across.
It's only 20 feet wide.
All right, easy now.
All right, here we go.
Now, grab the back.
Oh, it takes me all my life.
I'm going to kill you.
Maybe not.
I might have to kill you first.
I'm going to kill you first.
Maybe not. I might have to kill you first.
Now, come on.
I am not going into that jungle with you.
No matter what you do to me, I am not going.
Come on, move.
Alacran had outmaneuvered me, outflanked me.
There was no use trying to break south toward the capital.
He had the whole area sewed up.
So I decided on a gamble.
I turned back.
Head for the last place on Earth he'd look for me.
Head for the last place on Earth he'd look for me.
The village of Monthe Miguel de Silva.
It was nearly midnight when we entered the village.
It was nearly midnight when we entered the village.
I kept a tight grip on Maria's arm and hurried her through the back streets and alleys.
I kept a tight grip on Maria's arm and hurried her through the back streets and alleys.
Heading toward Pepita's room on the other side of town.
Heading toward Pepita's room on the other side of town.
Though we didn't make it.
A patrol of rebels came around the corner and moved toward us.
We couldn't turn and run. We couldn't go on.
We were trapped.
But we'd stopped in front of a house built flush against the street.
The door was only a few feet away.
I stepped over and tried it.
It was unlocked.
I drew my gun and pushed the door open.
I drew my gun and pushed the door open.
All right, come on. There's no one in.
Inside, quick.
What are you going to do?
Wait for the patrol to pass.
Now be quiet.
Here they come.
Not a sound, Maria.
Shh. Bye.
That was lucky.
Well, double lucky, in fact.
Double lucky, in fact.
The head man here has gone out and left some clothes already for me.
The head man here has gone out and left some clothes already for me.
Tantalones, camisa,
sarape, sombrero.
Now, if we can find something for you...
What do you mean?
Well, dress like we are. We don't have a chance.
Here.
Here, this ought to do it. Catch it.
Now, here's a shawl for you.
You can throw it over your head and keep it around your face.
If you think I am going to change my clothes...
Get behind that curtain and do it any way you want.
But get into that dress and do it fast.
What?
In a few minutes, we were back into the marketplace,
In a few minutes, we were back into the marketplace,
walking rapidly.
And then as we passed the great doors of the church,
And then as we passed the great doors of the church,
I've frozen my tracks.
Alicron.
He was launching in the back of a Turing car.
He was launching in the back of a Turing car.
Fat and evil.
This way.
Into the church. If he sees me, we're finished.
Slow and solemn now.
Slow and solemn now.
All right, up the steps.
And keep your head down.
Odd, half scared the way the villagers go at it.
Odd, half scared the way the villagers go at it.
All right.
Up toward the front.
Hurry.
All right.
All right, in here.
All right, this is far enough.
Now kneel down.
Well, we're safe for the moment, but...
Well, we're safe for the moment, but...
Alicron.
Don't move, Maria. Don't cry out.
The gun's pressed against your side.
Please.
Keep your head down and pretend you're praying.
Don't really pray.
I also want to hear Tyrone Power in Suspense's production,
The Guilty Always Run.
And now, Escape and the second act of Violent Night.
And now, Escape and the second act of Violent Night.
And now, Escape and the second act of Violent Night.
The Padre, white-haired and old,
The Padre, white-haired and old, knelt at the altar
and went on with his prayer,
not hearing the summons from the back of the church.
not hearing the summons from the back of the church.
Some of the kneeling villagers turned to look
and then turned back quickly.
Beneath my serabbi, I kept the gun pressed
tight against Maria's side.
Padre!
Alicron was walking up the aisle
toward the front of the church,
moving slowly and deliberately,
stopping to glance along each row
and study the kneeling worshipers.
You cannot come here with arms to my son.
This is a place of peace.
And I am a very peaceful man, Padre,
And I am a very peaceful man, Padre,
as long as I have not denied the things I want.
as long as I have not denied the things I want.
What is it you want?
A man. I am told he has some woman with him.
They may have come in here.
I will only need a moment more
to finish checking your followers.
No, I cannot permit that.
Padre,
you know who I am.
Now, we can't be friends
or we can be enemies,
as you choose.
Of course, burning the church
is not to my liking.
Go, wait outside if you wish.
I am on the point of dismissing the congregation.
I am on the point of dismissing the congregation.
You may watch them as they leave.
All right.
You are clever at compromise, Padre.
I am sure we will learn to understand each other.
I am sure we will learn to understand each other.
Adios.
La misa está terminada.
That is all my children.
Vayan con dios.
My son.
What is it, Padre?
This way. Follow me, both of you. Come quickly.
Come on, Maria.
In here.
You are taking a big chance, Padre.
If he finds out, you are in trouble.
You have heard of sanctuary, my son,
the sanctuary of the church? Yes, of course.
Unfortunately, I cannot assure you that sanctuary,
but perhaps I can help you
in some small way to find your own sanctuary.
Thank you, Padre.
In a few minutes, when everyone has gone,
he will be certain...
Who is it?
La lacrane.
One moment.
I am informed that you are hiding a man and woman
from the congregation.
Open this door.
Have patience. Now.
Behind the desk, there is a way out.
Go now, both of you, quickly.
The passage opens on an alleyway behind the church.
Open now!
Hurry, my children. Thank you, Padre.
When we came into the open alleyway,
we were on the very edge of the village,
on a crooked path that ran between the walls
and backs of the buildings on one side
and the dark, dense mass of the
Diablo jungle on the other.
But for a moment, we were safe.
Barry. What?
Back there,
in the church,
would you really have killed me?
Look, I'd hate to do anything to hurt you,
but if I have to, I will.
Why do you hate me so much?
Hate you? I don't hate you. Why should I hate you?
You're my ace in the hole.
I've got nothing against you personally.
You just picked the wrong man for a father, that's all.
Wait. Hold it.
Barry, don't shoot. It's only a child.
Yes, it's only a child, but he knows who we are.
And you'll have the whole town out here in two minutes.
There's no choice left. Now, come on.
Barry, what are you doing? Where are we going?
Into the jungle.
Via Diablo.
Barry.
Yes?
I've got to rest.
I can't go on much further.
All right. All right, Maria.
We'll slow down and take it easier.
I don't think he's going to find us now.
I think maybe
we've got a chance.
Can't we stop, Barry?
No. No, in ten minutes we wouldn't be able to move again.
The sky is beginning to lighten.
It'll be dawn in less than an hour.
He can't chase us forever.
He's got a revolution on his hands.
Barry,
Barry,
it's all been so strange,
like a nightmare,
all mixed up.
I hated you at first.
Oh, forget it.
I didn't know who you were, what you were doing to me.
And finally,
I began to understand.
I...
I don't hate you anymore, Barry.
Good, Maria.
It works out better that way.
In fact, I'm afraid I...
I like you very much.
What? Afraid?
Yes.
Maria, we'll be out of this
before long, and...
What...
Wait. What is it, Barry?
Those are dogs. What?
Yeah, they're trailing us with dogs.
Where are we going? Now they'll find us.
Oh, Barry!
Come on, Maria.
And we ran again
down the twisting jungle trail,
on and on,
knowing while we ran that there was no way out,
no way of escape.
And then suddenly we
burst out into a clearing and stopped in our tracks.
Or ahead of us,
dark and ancient,
its stones worn by tropic rains
grown over with lichen and moss,
was a Mayan pyramid
built by men dead for centuries,
lost and forgotten
in the Valle Diablo.
We broke into a run across the clearing.
We are going inside, Barry?
Why not? What have we got to lose?
Nothing at all, Mr. and Mrs.
O'Grady.
We'll head inside quick, Maria.
Excellent.
Right into the trap,
just as I hoped.
He's behind us somewhere.
At the edge of the clearing.
I've been here for some time, you know,
waiting for my beaters
to drive you out of the brush.
Always predictable,
Mr. O'Grady.
One knows precisely
what you're going to do
before you do it.
Alecran,
listen to me.
I've got
Maria with me.
I recognize her at once.
Then listen.
Before I let you take me,
I'll kill her.
Do you understand?
That's entirely up to you,
Mr. O'Grady.
First you fired
at my voice and miss.
Then an empty gun,
embarrassing,
isn't it, Mr. O'Grady?
Now my fun begins.
Come on, Maria,
back inside quick.
Well, I'm out of cartridges.
All we can do now is wait.
Run.
Run as far and as long as we can.
And then what, Barry?
You killed me
as you told him you would.
You know better.
I thought the threat would hold him off,
but it didn't.
You heard him.
Yes, I heard him.
It is not a surprise, Barry.
My father has hated me for years.
I did not
come in handy
like you hoped.
Where are you, Mr. O'Grady?
Are you scared
now, running?
Maria, keep moving
as quiet as possible.
Maybe you need something to help
you run, Mr. O'Grady.
He's got a
machine pistol. Hurry.
I cannot go so quickly.
Why are you afraid, Mr. O'Grady?
You're not
afraid that they are the plantation.
Is this slot baller here,
perhaps?
It's no use, Barry. It's no use.
Maria, Maria, wait.
Look, there's a ledge
right above us here. I can feel it when I reach
up. Broken boulders.
Now there's a chance. Now listen
to me, Maria. You go on alone.
Make a noise. Talk so
that he'll think that we're still together. Do you understand?
I'm going to wait for him here.
Right up on that ledge.
All right, now go on.
All right. Go on.
Oh, be careful.
Be very careful.
Barry,
what are we going to do? I scrambled up
on the ledge and got set.
And I felt around in the dark
and found a rock
as big as a
man's head. And then
I waited. You're tiring
yourself for nothing,
Mr. O'Grady.
There's only one way out, you know.
This way.
I raised the rock and waited.
He was close now. Very
close.
I listened to his steps.
Trying
to judge his position by the
sound. You're not being
very friendly, Mr. O'Grady.
And I feel
very warm for you.
He was right
below me.
I raised the rock
and smashed it down on his head.
Barry!
Barry!
It's all right,
Maria.
It's all over.
Barry, Barry, Barry.
Maria.
Two weeks in that stinking jail
and now you drag me out and bring me down here
to the harbor. Why, Captain?
This way, Senor O'Grady. All right, so you won the revolution.
Now you're the new government. All right, fine.
I got nothing against you.
My fight with Olycron was personal, you know that.
Quite true, Senor O'Grady. I know that.
However, Olycron was
one of our leaders. You killed
him. The usual sentence is
death by a firing squad. I know that, Captain.
They said we are permitting you to leave the country.
The launch is waiting
to take you out to the ship.
You should consider yourself very fortunate, Senor O'Grady.
Captain.
Look.
There, uh,
there was a girl.
Maria.
Olycron's daughter.
Where is Maria?
I believe you are speaking of my wife, Senor.
Your wife?
You are escaping a death sentence, Senor.
But I must warn you
that if you ever return to the Republic,
that sentence will be carried out.
Your wife?
Maria and I were married yesterday
at the Church of San Isabel.
As a wedding gift to Maria,
I gave her
your life.
Your ship is waiting, Senor O'Grady.
Adios.
Under the direction of Norman
MacDonald, escape has brought you
Violent Night by Les Crutchfield,
starring William Conrad
and Joyce McCluskey.
Featured in the cast were Don Diamond, Ben Wright,
and Edgar Berrier, with
Michael Ann Barrett, Byron Cain, and Richard Beals.
Your announcer, George Walsh.
The special music for escape
is composed and conducted by
Leith Stevens.
Next week.
You are standing
in a lonely forest clearing.
The dawn turned
gray by the creeping fog.
While standing only yards
from you,
his eyes filled with his hate
for you,
is a man who's come to
take your life.
Unless you
first
take his.
So listen next week when escape
brings you Alexander Dumas' classic
story, The Second Shot.
Rich in comedy, rich in human
interest, rich in novelty, that's Rich.
Starring Stan Freeberg, Friday nights
on CBS radio.
It's the lively, refreshing, stars addressed
situation comedy called, That's Rich,
which it certainly is, every Friday
night on most of these stations.
Just you make a date, tie a little string around
your favorite chair so you'll remember to listen,
and laugh with That's Rich.
Friday nights too, enjoy a full
hour Arthur Godfrey Digest on the
CBS Radio Network.